Motor-vehicle.



'WILLIAM T. KAMMANN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

y MOTOR-VEHICLE.

No. 839,068. l

Specicationof Letters Patent.

. Application filed March 30, 1904. Serial No. 200,773.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known-that I, WILLIAM T. KAMMANN,

a'citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a full, clear,concise, and exe .act description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to automobiles.

Prominent objects of the invention are to provide a simple and practicalconstruction of truck-frame, to provide avpower driving mechanism.particularly adapted for heavy freight vehicles or trucks to permit theready transformation of an ordinary vehicle into an automobile orpower-driven -vehicle to arrange for the application of the power indifferent ways, so as'to secure different resultsas, for example, slowspeed with great power or high speed with less power-and to accomplishthe foregoing in a simple, practical, and expeditious manner.

In the'accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a truck orfore-carriage for automobiles embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 isa cross-section taken on line 2 2 in Fig. l. i Figs. 3 and 4 are viewsof details of construction. Fig. 5 `is a side elevation of a motor anddriving-gear which permits difierentapplications of power. Fig. 6 is acrosssection taken on line 6 6 in Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are sectionstaken on lines 7 7 and 8 8 in Fig. 6. Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, areviews of details of construction.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a truckfor fore-car riage especially adapted foruse in a freight motor-vehicle, meaning by a truck the front Wheels andassociated frame which form thefront part of the running-gear of thevehicle. In Fig. 4 I havealso shown the front part of the body of thevehicle and have indicated in dotted'lines more of the body part and therearwheels of the vehicle.

The truck ofmypresent invention is intended to be bodily attached to anddetached .into a motor-vehicle or automobile.

from a vehicle, so that when desired a vehicle l.ofordinary constructioncan have its front ,wheel removed and one of my trucks substituted,thustransforming an ordinary vehicle To such wheels,

end .the'ztruck proper-that is, the

with a ytheir framework-is provided ,1, 5,5 ,driving-motor and `drivingmechanism and -7 7, 8 8, and 9 9. yiently made of a suitable length ofangle-iron vcut away,

gearing, sothat the entire apparatus forms a separate unit complete initself, capable, therefore, of bodily attachment to and detachment fromthe vehicle and also capable of operating to drive the same whenproperly-attached. The truck shown in the drawings for carrying out thisinventionl comprises a body or supporting-frame A and a pair of axles 1and 2, provided with wheels 3 3 and 4 4, respectively. The frame A couldbe of any suitable or desired construction, but as a matter of further'and specific improvement is made in a general rectangular box-like formconveniently consisting of a pair of rectangular ends 5 5 andconnecting-braces 6 6, The ends 5 5 4are conven-l bent. to forma squarestructure, as shown in Fig. 4, the ends of the iron being weldedtogether and its inner flange having portions so that when the bar isbent into the form shown the edges of the cut-away portions will meet inlines 10 10. The upper braces 6 6 and lower braces 7 7 .are desirablymade of angle-irons which are welded to the ends 5 5. The horizontalflangesof these bars are out away at 12 12, Fig. 1. The lower braces 8 8are desirably made of T- irons, the horizontal ianges of which arelikewise cut away and welded to the ends 5 5. The braces 9 9 aredesirably made lof anglebars whose horizontal flanges are similarlyY cutaway. By such construction the lower braces 7 8, and 9 form fourdistinct passages or shelves, two on each side, each adapted toaccommodate a row of storage batteries, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.4. A pair of cross-braces 13 13, conveniently in the form of angle-bars,are extended between the inner braces 9 9, as shown in Fig. 1. areextended from the outer ends of the axles 1 and 2 to the braces 13 13,to which the inner ends of said springs are secured. The sprin s arealso desirably secured to the midd e braces 9 9. Y

An electric motor B is shownmounted at the middle of the frame A, androtary shafts 15 15 are extended out from the motor and provided attheir outer ends with sprocketwheels 16 16, from which sprocket-chains17 17 extend to sprocket-wheels on the wheels 3 4 for driving thelatter. The motor B is conveniently supported from the bottom of theframe A, as s hown in Fig. 4, and suitable .bearings 18 18 are providedfor the shafts 15 Patented Dec.-18, 1906.

Springs 14 14 IOO IIO

.being shown) are mounted on spindles 32 32 15. Although the motor shownis an electric motor, any other form of motor can be used.

My present invention further contemplates a gearing or driving mechanismby which the motor, be it electrical or otherwise, can be employed, sothat its power will be used to best advantage under diherent conditions.The arrangement herein set forth permits the power to be applieddirectly from the motor and. alsoreduced by gearing, whereby the vehiclecan be driven at a relatively high speed by the direct application of lpower where the load is comparatively light and there are no grades, andalso whereby the vehicle can be driven at a reduced speed where the loadis heavy or there are upgrades. The arrangement herein shown for thispurose is best shown in Figs. 5 to 12, inclusive.

eferring first to Fig. 6, a part 2O of the motor-casing is shown, asalso the motor-shaft 21. The driving-shafts 15 for the vehiclewheels arealso shown in this figure, one of them being extended through themotorshaft 21, which is for such. purpose made hollow. A sleeve 22 isfitted within the shaft 21 and outside of the shaft 15 therein to form abearing for the latter. rlhe driving-shafts 15 15 are provided withbevehwlieels 23 23, which by coperating with four bevel-wheels 24 24,arranged between them, form a diifer- `ential gearing. The gear-wheels24 24 are carried by a large gear-wheel 25, which. is provided with anannular extension 26, in which. pins 27 27, forming spindles for thewheels 24 24, are inserted. A frame 28 is bolted to the gear by bolts 29and is provided With an elongated extension 30, which forms a bearingfor one of the driving-shafts 15. A plurality of gear-wheels 31 31 (fourand arranged to mesh. with the gear 25. The spindles 32 32 are enlargedat 33 33, and these enlarged portions are extended through aperturesformed in a rotary annulus or ring 34 and are carried by largergear-wheels 35 35, with which said spindles are desirably made integral.The annulus 34 is mounted on balls 36 36, which, with a sleeve 37,screwed on the extension 26 of the gear 25, form a suitable ball-bearinglfor said annulus. The gear-wheels 35 35 mesh. with a central gearorpinion 38, which is keyed to the motorshaft 21 by a key 39. A collar40 is mounted on the screw-threaded end of the motorshaft 21, and a ring41. is mounted outside of the collar 40, the collar 40 holding the ring41 and gear 38 in place. The gears 35 35 are made of a chambered orhollow construction, as shown in Fig. 6, and friction-drums 42 42, Fig.10, are confined within them, with layers 43 43, of friction material,such as leather, interposed between the outer rims of the friction-drumsand the inner rims of the gear- Wheels. The friction-drums 42 42 areconstructed with interior projections or lugs 44 44, which are split,the corresponding portions of the rims of the disks being also split, asat 45. Plugs 46 46, having llatsides or faces 47 47, are fitted into thelugs 44 44, and. springs 48 48 are arranged within the rims of thefriction-disks and adapted to contract the same to lessen theirdiameters. Levers 49 49 are secured to the projecting ends of the plugs46 46, as shown in .Figs 6 and 7. The levers 49 49, of which there aretwo, are of general rectangular or bell-crank forni, and each lever isconnected with two of the plugs 46 46, one at the free end of each leverand the other at the bend or angle thereof, as shown in Fig. 7. Links 5050 are pivotally connected to the other free end of the levers 49 49 andextended inwardly and pivotally connected at their inner ends with adisk 51, loosely mounted on an extension 52 of the small central gear38. The gear 38 is provided with an annular groove or channel 53, Fig.11, which. is closed at opposite points by pins or pegs 54 54. The disk51 is provided with. two oppositely-disposed projections 55 55, whichare adapted to fit and work in the channel 53 in the gear 38. The disk51 is also constructed with an annular lip or flan 56, and in this ismounted a loose collar 57, to which is secured a lever 58, pivoted tothe motor-casing at 59. The lever 58 is sub- `iected to a pulling-spring60, which tends to draw the lever so as to force the collar 57 againstthe disk 51. An operating-rod 61. is also secured to the upper end ofthe lever 58, by which said lever can be actuated by the operator of thevehicle.

The operation of the arrangement thus set forth is as follows: Underordinary conditions the motor drives the shafts 15 15 directly by reasonof the positive and direct locking action, which is under norm alconditions formed between the motor-shaft 21 and such shafts 15 15. Thisis due to the fact that under such conditions the spring 60 by drawingon the lever 58 causes the collar 57 to normally hold the disk 56 .in anextended or inward position, in which its prongs 55 55 engage the pins54 54 on the gear 38, the gear 38 thereby being locked with the disk 56.As a result, the rotation of the shaft 21. with the gear 38 causes thedisk 51 to turn with it, the initial turning movement of which drawsupon oi tightens the links 50 50, thereby causing said links to act todraw inwardly upon the ends of the levers 49 49, to which they areconnected. These levers are thereby slightly turned, so that the plugs46 46 to which they are secured, are also slightly turned, therebyinclining the llat surfaces 47 47 thereof to a slight extent and causingthe opening or expansion of the friction-drums 42 42. As a result, thesedrums bind upon the gear-wheels 35 35 and prevent the rotary movement ofthe same. These IOO therefore* locked, and the latter -`act-directly toforce a rotatQIl ofthe gear 25 by the force -is to say,

which. the gears 31 3 1exert directlyupon the gear25 while in theirlocked conditionthat 31 31. The gear 25von being ro tatedin this wayfcarries the pinions j 24 V24 withv it,i thereby causingthese inions; toturnthe gears 23 23,

.and therebyt eshafts 15 15, the pinions 24 24 not revolving upon their`OWIl axesk except topermita slight turning of thelwheelson theopposite.sides ofthe vehicle, as required in turning corners and the like. Thus,in effe ctthe motor is ordinarily and normally locked to thedrivingshafts ofthe truck, `so

`that its power isapplieddirectly to such.

shaftsto turn them in correspondence with the rotation-, of the motor.

these shafts of coursedrives the truck-wheels 3 4 through thel medium ofthe sprocket-- chains 1 7 17. Whenit'is desired to apply themotivepowerso that-the motorV can exert more power on the wheels, `the -leveror rod61 is pushed in the direction indicated vbythe arrow in Fig. 6,therebycausingthe collar 57 to vwithdraw the disk 51 out of engagernentwith the gear-wheelr 38 Thev links 50 Othereby become released, relaxingtheir tension upon the levers 49 49, so that the plugs46 46 l areallowed to resume a more 4 radial. position and permit thefriction-drums 142, 4 2 to contract and discontinue their frictionalengagement with the gear-wheels 35 35. The rotation ofthe pinion 38,therefore, ispermitted to turn the gears 35 35 on their axes, and theyin turn rotate the pinions 31 .31 kon ltheir axis, -so that thesepinionsr by. turn the gear 2 5, andi their rotation can thereby vdrivesaid gear andthe rotary shafts 15 15, as before. The annulus 34-beingloose and free and the gear 25` being held against rotation by the load,the annulus, with the pinions 31 31, will naturally revolve around thegear 25 instead of driving the latter. A braking arrangement istherefore provided for holding the annulus 34 against rotation, andthereby compelling the pinions 31 31 to turn the gear 25. This comprisesa pair of metal straps 68 6.8, provided with frictionstraps 69 69,securely attachedthereto, and these friction elements are arranged theone above and the other below the annulus 34. The ends of the upperfriction-strap are connected with links 7 0 70 and those of the lowerstrap with links 71 71. The links 70 '70. and 71 71 are provided withapertures 72 72, and into these are fitted the ilat ends or extensions73 73 of a pair of heads 74 74, which are secured to, being convenientlymade integral with, rods 75 and 76, which latter are provided with links77 and 78, respectively, connected to an operators brake-rod 79. Rods 808() are pivotally connected with the upper links 70 70 and rods 81 81with the' lower there being no rotation ofthe gea-rs The rotation offorked at-theirouter or free e` nds." Their .forked endsreceive andengage :pins 82 82, fixed to the motor-casing. The operationofthis'braking4 device is as follows: V\ 7hen .th`e operators braking-rod7911's, drawn inthe .direction of the-arrow, Fig. 5, the links 75 76turn the heads 74 74 slightly, Withthe result that the flatextensions 73thereof movethe links 7 0 70 and 71 71 toward one anotherthatis, thelinks `70 70 are depressed andthe .upon the, annulus, and since this isincreased as the pressure againstthe s tops82 8'2.in creases a verypowerful friction effect is exerted upon said annulus, thereby checkingand finally stopping itsrotation, with theresult that the gear 25 andshafts 15 15l are vrotated as in the other previously-describedarrangement. v

The braking-rod 79 is understood to ,be led forwardly and properlyconnected with a lever or other contrivanceto be operated by theoperator of thevehicle. The usual proceeding is to start up the motorandallow it vehicle and then to operate the brake-rod 79 so as to brakethe revolving annulus 34 and start and run the vehicle. Therod :79 thusbecomes the starting and stopping.V or speed- .and stopped vand rod 61is also understood to be extended properly and connected with ahand-lever or other contrivance for the operator, so that the latter canwhile sitting upon his seat throw the reduction-gearing into and out ofoperation at will. Thus the operator can whenever 'he desires change theapplication of power of the motor so as to apply it either directly tothe wheel-driving shafts, or indirectly thereto, through the medium of areduction gearing. The reductiongearing is of course ordinarily broughtinto play when the vehicle is to climb an incline or hill and whentraveling over rough roads.

to attain some speed without .driving the Y .105 controlling rod,andbysuitably actuating it the vehiclev can vbe started have its speed.regulated-as desired. The

IIO

The more direct driving arrangement is used when a greater speed isdesired and when traveling over level roads. Ordinarily in starting thevehicle the reduction-gearing is used, and then the more direct gearingis employed, so as to increase its speed. Then when a hill or otherincline is to be climbed the reduction-gearing is again thrown intoplay, reducing the speed of the vehicle and i increasing the powerapplied to the wheels.

It will-'be seen that the truck thus described comprises a suitable andproper framework, together with self-contained driving mechanism bywhich its wheels can be properly driven and with the advantage that theycan be applied either for straight work or hill-climbing at will. Thisself-contained truck or fore-carriage is shown in Fig. 4 arranged belowthe front part of the body 63 of the vehicle and provided with a fifth--wheel arrangement by which it can be turned relatively to thevehicle-body. The truck or fore-carriage is provided with a largeannular gear 64, Jfastened to the portion of the fifthwheel on thefore-carriage, and the vehiclebody with a rod 65, having a pinion 66,the rod bein extended up through the floor of the vehic e-body, so as topermit it to be operated by an operator.

Changes and modilications can be made in the devices herein set forthwithout departin from the spirit of myinvention.

1. A detachable track for motor-vehicles, comprising the two sets ofrigidly-mounted wheels and driving mechanism combined to form a unitarystructure capable of bodily attachment to and detachment from a vehiclein combination with means on the vehicle for controlling said drivingmechanism, substantially as described.

2. A detachable truck for motor-vehicles, comprising double sets ofrigidly-mounted wheels, a running-gear therefor, and driving mechanism,the latter being combined and united to form a bodily detachable andattachable unitary structure, substantially as described.

3. A truck for motor-vehicles,y comprising two sets of rigidly-mountedwheels, a run- 'ning-gear, a motor supported thereby, and

mechanism for driving the wheels by the motor, the whole being combinedto form a single unitary structure capable of bodily attachment to anddetachment from the vehicle in combination with means on the vehicle forcontrolling the motor and runninggear, substantially as described.

4. A truck for motor-vehicles, comprising front and rear rigidly-mountedwheels, a running-gear, a motor carried thereby, driving-shafts actuatedby said motor, and powerdriven connections between the wheels anddriving-shafts, substantially as described.

5. A truck for motor-vehicles, comprising front and rear axles providedwith wheels, a frame supported by said axles and consisting of endsunited by cross-strips, a motor supported by said frame, driving-shaftsactuated y said motor, and gear connections between said shafts andwheels, substantially as described.

6. A truck for motor-vehicles, comprising front and rear axles providedwith wheels, and a frame consisting of ends formed of angle-bars havingtheir ends welded together and cross-strips consisting of angle and T-sha ed bars welded to said ends, substantially as described.

7. In a motor-vehicle, a truck-frame comprising ends 5, 5 each formed ofa single length of angle-bar bent into rectangular form and having itsends welded together, and cross-strips 6 6, 7 7, 8 8 and 9 9, the strips6 6, 7 7 and 9 9 being an le-bars, and the strips 8 8 being T-shaped arslocated between the strips 7 7 and 9 9, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 28th day of March,A. D. 1904.

WILLIAM T. KAMMANN.

Witnesses:

A. MILLER BELFIELD, I. C. LEE.

